New Year’s Eve highlights include the colossal planet Jupiter reaching its brightest illumination of 2025. As it nears opposition on Jan. 10, the gas giant’s beaming light will be unmistakable in the constellation Gemini. The stars Pollux and Castor, which form the twins’ heads, hover close by.

Galileo Galilei was the first to observe the heavens with a telescope. The new device’s name was created from Greek. “Tele,” translating to “far.” And “skopnein,” “to look or see.” Together, “teleskopos” means “far-seeing.” His view would have equaled binocular viewing today. With binoculars, Jupiter’s famous bands are observable, as are the four largest moons. They appear as four faint stars that dance across Jupiter’s equatorial line. The European Space Agency’s Juice Mission, which launched in 2023, and NASA’s Europa Clipper, which launched in 2024, aim to explore the mysteries of these moons.

Making a triangle of bright lights, look to the east of the beautiful open star cluster, the Pleiades, to see the Moon on its way to full. Just three days later, Jan. 3 brings the first full moon of 2026. Known as the Wolf Moon, New Year’s timing is nearly on cue to howl at its gleaming beams. In the third triangle point of evening, gleams the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. It reaches its highest point in the sky at midnight, dazzling in a blue-white hue as champagne corks pop.